Truck with equipment for Obama tour stolen in Va.

DENA POTTER
Associated PressPublished: October 18, 2011 4:11PM

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- At least no one left the keys to Air Force One in the ignition.

In an egg-on-face moment for the government ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Virginia, someone stole a Pentagon truck full of presidential seals, podiums and sound equipment from outside a suburban hotel Monday, Richmond TV stations reported, citing unidentified police officials.

Authorities found the truck later in the day at another hotel near the Richmond airport, according to the news reports. But no one would say whether the items inside had been located. And no arrests were reported.

Whether the thieves knew what they were stealing -- or whether they got that my-God-what-have-I-done-now feeling when they opened the truck -- is unclear as well.

Will any of the gear end up on eBay? Or is there a guy somewhere amusing himself by holding mock presidential press conferences in his basement?

The White House and police in Henrico County would not discuss details of the heist, such as whether the thieves hot-wired the truck or found the keys in the ignition. And the Secret Service said it's not the agency's problem. "Not our equipment, not our truck," spokesman Ed Donovan said.

The Defense Information Systems Agency, the Pentagon unit that owns the vehicle, said no classified or sensitive information was in it. But the agency had little else to say.

"We take incidents such as this very seriously," it said in a three-sentence statement, adding that an investigation is continuing.

WWBT-TV (http://bit.ly/pW3cBk ) reported that the truck was parked at the Courtyard Marriott in suburban Henrico County when it was stolen. Obama is expected to push his jobs plan Wednesday at a fire station about 20 miles away. It's part of his three-day bus tour of Virginia and North Carolina.

Despite the setback, about 20 workers rushed about the Chesterfield Fire Department Station 9, setting up the stage, lights and yes, even a lectern, said Lt. Jason Elmore, department spokesman. The lectern was wrapped in cloth, so Elmore couldn't tell if it had the official presidential seal.

Even if Obama doesn't get his official gear back, Elmore said, it won't dampen the presidential visit.

"We'll do the best we can with what we have here if they need that," he said. "Hopefully they'll be able to find their official stuff."

David Johnson, a security consultant, said he wasn't surprised by the theft.

"Crime happens. I don't guess anyone is immune from it," said Johnson, who provided security to former Haitian presidents and U.S. ambassadors. "To me, it falls in the category of sometimes things happen."

Johnson said it would be impossible to guard the president's entire entourage.

"I think most people have no idea how big a train the president pulls when he travels. It's a huge, huge train, and there's an enormous expenditure on the transportation and the security of the president," he said. Guarding all of it could prove so expensive the public "would just be screaming."